Illusory display and storage cabinet



June' 15; 19544v R, V|NCENT 2,681,262

ILLUSORY DISPLAY AND STORAGE CABINET Filed March 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 15, 1954 L. R. VINCENTl 2,681,262

ILLUsoRY DISPLAY AND STORAGE CABINET Filed March 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVE role.

dwzawzz/ BY Patented June 15, 1954 2,681,262 ILLUSORYDISPLAY AND STORAGE CABINET Lonnie R. Vincent, Newport Beach, Calif.

Application March 28,

1 Claim.

This invention'relates to a cabinet for displaying and storing merchandise, particularly articles of merchandise of small size, aesthetic qualities of style and beauty, and considerable value, such as may be found, for example, displayed on open counters in the cosmetic and notion departments of drug stores and department stores where the articles `are available for inspection and comparison by the public. As herein described, the cabinet embodying this invention is used for the display and storagel of lipsticks and their holders, but it will be understood that it is suitable and may be equally well used for the display and storage of a great variety of other arti cles, including jewelry, pens and pencils, cigaret and cigar holders, and many others that will occur to a merchant.

lt is an object of this invention to provide a cabinet in which articles of the character above described may be displayed in a manner enhancing and accentuating their aethestic qualities.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet in which merchandise articles may not only be advantageously displayed but may also be conveniently stored in a apparent and therefore not detraoting from the aesthetic value of the display.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cabinet in which articles of merchandise may be displayed in a manner permitting demonstration to, and comparison by, a customer of their various qualities, yet making handling of the articles largely unnecessary as well as discouraging it.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet for displaying, storing, and demonstrating merchandise in which the articles on display are so arranged as quickly to indicate to a sales attendant any pilferage which may occur.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a display cabinet affording to a customer an impression of clear visibility and accessibility of the articles contained therein and actually affording maximum lvisibility consistent with concealed storage of merchandise.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out as the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention proceeds, or will be apparent from that description and from the accompanying drawings, illustrative of that embodiment, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display and storage cabinet constructed according to the principles of this invention, with articles of mermanner not readily 'f larged, on the line of Fig. 2, with grooves i2 and I3 1949, Serial No. 83,974 (Cl. S12- 118) chandise shown displayed, the viewpoint being towards a frontal corner of the cabinet;

Fig. 2 is an elevational View of one of the end panels of the cabinet;

Fig. 3 is a frontal elevation of the cabinet, articles of merchandise shown in Fig. 1 being omitted from this View for greater simplication and clarity;

rounding top, bottom, front and rear members;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional View, slightly ensection indicated at 6-6 in Fig. 4, showing details of the top of the cabinet;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view, also enlarged, on the line of section indicated at l-l in Fig, 4, showing details of the bottom of the cabinet;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view on a further enlarged scale of one of the mechandise racks of the cabinet; and

Fig. 9 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the merchandise rack, taken on the line of section indicated at 9 9 in Fig. 8.

Having reference now to the details of the drawings, the preferred embodiment of my invention has as its supporting members, end panels Il, one of which is shown in Fig. 2. The end panel l! of Fig. 2 is the panel shown at the left in Fig. 1, and is preferably made of transparent plastic material or glass, and has on its inner surface groove l2 to the forward margin I4 of the panel. It will be understood that the opposite end panel El is symmetrical with the panel illustrated` in also on its inner side.

The end panels l l are formed with T-shaped feet l5, the upper shoulders of which support a structed of two Wooden members, notched to fit the stems of the feet l5 and meeting at the center line of the end panels Il and held together by wooden strips I1 at the exterior of the panels Il.

A plastic roof frame member i6 connects the upper ends of the end panels i! and has blocks l 9 secured to its under sideby screws 2Q. Plastic rods 2l connect the two end panels at suitable intervals between the roof member l@ and the oor I6, and are threaded to receive screws Z22.

By tightening the screws 252 in the rods 2! the end panels li may be compressed against the blocks l@ and the notches of the floor panel i6 to form a very simple, yet rigid and ornamental frame 23, supported on the plastic feet l5, and easily disassembled in the event that any of its members becomes broken or marred.

A mirror is inserted by its lateral margins in the vertical grooves l2 of the end panels ll and rests on the floor panel E8, concealing the joining line of the members of the floor panel. lt will be observed that the mirror 25 need receive none of the strain attendant upon tightening the frame Z3 to a rigid condition and is therefore not subject to distortion by compression. The mirror 25 divides the space bounded by the frame 23 into a forward compartment 28 and a rearward cornpartment 2'5 and is arranged to reflect towards the front of the frame.

Shelves 2Q are supported by their ends in the horizontal grooves Vi3 of the end panels il, thus dividing the forward compartment il@ into a plurality of display sones in which may be displayed articles of merchandise which will be reflected in the mirror 25. The shelves i'i are of transparent plastic or glass and, like the mirror 25, receive no end compression from the frame 23 and are therefore not easily distorted. The lowest shelf Zil'preferably rests upon the floor panel l, and may suitably be a mirror, thereby concealing all but the outer edge of the panel l5 and giving the cabinet the appearance of being constructed almost entirely of glass or plastic. All or the shelves are preferably disposed in contact with the mirror at their rearward edges.

A subsidiary frame 3i is disposed in the rearward compartment 2l, dividing that compartment into bins 32 for the st rage of merchandise. The frame Iii is formed of uprights 33 and shelves Eil mcrtised to interlock, and the shelves are sloped se that the bins di: may more easily retain round articles or cylindrical articles stacked on their sides therewithin. It is contemplated that the bins 'sil will ordinarily contain merchandise of the same type as displayed on the shelves 2S in approximate alignment with each bin, so that a sales attendant may readily pick from an aligned bin an article corresponding in type to an article displayed in the forward compartment to which a customer may point. The subsidiary frame 3i may be backed by a plate 35, cemented or otherwise secured thereto, to enable the frame to be moved without first removing the contents of the bins. The plate 35 is disposed back to back with the mirror 25.

To prevent pilfering from the forward display compartment 2E, a pair of sliding doors 38, of transparent plastic or glass, are mounted in a grooved track 3&3 secured to the roof frame member i8 and in grooves il@ cut in the upper surface of the floor panel it adjacent the forward margin of the panel. The doors 38 may be provided with nger grooves il to assist in moving them. In a similar manner, slidingdoors Q2 may be provided as closures for the rearward compartment 2l, sliding in a grooved track i3 secured to the root frame member I and in grooves il@ cut in the upper surface of the floor panel l5 adjacent the rearward margin of the panel.

The forward doors 38 of course prevent removal of the shelves 29 from the forward compartment 26, as well as preventing pilferage of merchandise from the shelves. The rearward doors :l2 retain in place the whole subsidiary frame 3i, which, however, may be removed as a unit when the doors c2 are not present by pulling rearwardly its lower end so as to permit its upper end to be disengaged from behind the grooved track 43.

A cabinet constructed as above described is not only an ornamental cabinet of pleasing appearance, but a very practical combined display and storage cabinet which, because of the mirror 25, gives the appearance of being devoted entirely to display and apparently displays twice the amount of merchandise actually on its display shelves. The merchandise actually displayed on the shelves 2Q may be kept to a minimum, for example, a displayV of lipstcks may include only one lipstick of each of a number of colors and shades. With the displayed lipstieks reduced in number and protected by the doors 38, both the temptation and the opportunity for pilferage are reduced. The storage bins 32 are not only distant from a customer standing in front of the cabinet, but their existence is concealed and apparently denied by the optical illusion provided by the mirror 25, which gives the impression that the shelves 29 extend to the full depth of the cabinet. The optical illusion is increased by the device of supporting the shelves 29 by their ends in the grooves i3 of the end panels ll. rl`he shelves thus appear to extend beyond the mirror, their ends appearing as unbroken lines and not as obvious reflections.

The mirror 25 also eliminates the necessity for handling by a customer of such articles as lipsticks. Not infrequently a woman wishes to conipare the shade of a lipstick with the shade she is wearing, and in the absence of such a mirror as the mirror 25, she will hold a sample lipstick close to her lips for comparison in her compact mirror. When lipsticks are displayed in the cabinet of my invention, she may, without touching the sample lipsticks, quickly align the reiiecticn of her lips with each actual sample, and with the reflection thereof, of a large number of dif ferent shades. There is, therefore, no need for the transparent doors 38 to be opened, or for handling of the samples, both the exposure and the handling being often unsanitary and leading to theft.

As a further safeguard against pilferage and as an aid to display merchandising, I may provide racks 5c for holding merchandise articles such as lipsticks. rlhe racks 5@ are formed of sheets of transparent plastic material and may be bent in V-shaped channels having rounded webs and adapted to rest upon one arm of the channel. The other, or upper arm Eil is perforated by a plurality of holes 52, of a size suitable to receive the articles to be displayed, for example the cylindrical cases or holders commonly used to contain lipsticks, the uncovered ends of the lipsticks then projecting upwardly above the rack. These cases usually bear shade numbers or other identifying marks on their bases or ends, and as the bases of the cases rest upon the transparent supporting arms 53 of the racks Sil, the identidcation marks are clearly visible therethrough. Consequently, it is again not necessary for either a customer or a sales attendant to handle the individual lipsticks. When a customer'has selected the shade or shades of llipstick which she desires, the rack 5D containing the particular shade may be'lifted as a unit from the shelf 29 on which it rests, the identication may be read through the transparent arm 53, and delivering of merchandise of identical characteristics may be made from the storage bins 32. The entire noticeable distortion of the articles held by the racks. The racks 50 therefore combine with the transparent, mirrored, display-and-storage case, which encloses them, to accomplish the objects and purposes of the invention to a higher degree than if the merchandise `were loosely arranged upon the shelves 29. It is also to be noted that identification of the merchandise.

Obviously my invention is subject to modications in form and arrangement, therefore I do not choose to be limited to the exact embodiment herein described and illustrated, but rather to the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a cabinet for displaying and storing lipsticks and similar articles: a box-like frame having opposed open sides and vertical end walls; a vertical partition dividing the space defined by said frame into a forward display compartment and a rearward storage compartment and having a reflecting surface on its forward side; said end walls being of transparent material and having vertically spaced horizontal grooves ontheir inof said compartment is achieved; door on the open side of said forward compartrack placed on said shelves, having a marginal portion closely adjacent said reflecting surface so as to further achieve the aforesaid illusion, said rack having holes for the reception of individual articles displayed therein and being transparent to permit reading of markings on portions of said articles within said holes While said door remains closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 460,748 Hartmann Oct. 6, 1891 635,191 Sanger et al Oct. 17, 1899 1,563,799 Scherer Dec. 1, 1925 1,766,632 Haslup June 24, 1930 1,873,140 McGaugh Aug.. 23, 1932 1,878,072 Vance Sept. 20, 1932 2,049,594 Stultz Aug. 4, 1936 2,260,086 Matter Oct. 21, 1941 

